Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Lasting for a moment; momentary.
  • Pertaining to instants of time; instantaneous.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Momentary.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective archaic momentary

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective lasting for a markedly brief time

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin momentaneus: compare French momentané.

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Examples

  • So the preterite of the hi-class is nothing more than a matter of a former sigmatic experiential, already with momentaneous meaning, replacing the expected form *CóC-e.

    Archive 2009-08-01 2009

  • So the preterite of the hi-class is nothing more than a matter of a former sigmatic experiential, already with momentaneous meaning, replacing the expected form *CóC-e.

    Looking for a simple origin to Hittite's hi-class preterite 2009

  • The former leads to a durative-turned-present and the latter leads to a momentaneous-turned-past.

    Archive 2009-09-01 2009

  • Similarly then, a form like *CēC-s-t with added *-s- simply signals that a naturally ongoing action (such as swimming or breathing) is now referring specifically to a singular point in time (+momentaneous), an experience in a person's life.

    Archive 2009-08-01 2009

  • The former leads to a durative-turned-present and the latter leads to a momentaneous-turned-past.

    New thought: A 2D matrix of eventive/non-eventive and subjective/objective 2009

  • Similarly then, a form like *CēC-s-t with added *-s- simply signals that a naturally ongoing action (such as swimming or breathing) is now referring specifically to a singular point in time (+momentaneous), an experience in a person's life.

    Looking for a simple origin to Hittite's hi-class preterite 2009

  • If you think about it, the reduplicated form could easily lend a resultative nuance if analysed in this way since the reduplication would have originally stressed the non-stative quality of the verb either "repetitive" in nature as for punctual actions, or "continuative" as for non-momentaneous ones while the *h₂e-set of personal endings would ensure a completive aspect in contrast to the non-completive *mi-set.

    Archive 2008-05-01 2008

  • Otherwise, it is difficult to reconcile the fact that the Island disappears when it moves, since if no cataclysmic event occurs after the time-travelers go to the past, all that should happen is momentaneous changes in the present state of things on the Island suddenly the Dharma Initiative re-appears because the Hostiles/Others Purge was avoided.

    Why the Island Disappears by Francisco 2008

  • If you think about it, the reduplicated form could easily lend a resultative nuance if analysed in this way since the reduplication would have originally stressed the non-stative quality of the verb either "repetitive" in nature as for punctual actions, or "continuative" as for non-momentaneous ones while the *h₂e-set of personal endings would ensure a completive aspect in contrast to the non-completive *mi-set.

    Rethinking the reduplicated perfect in Indo-European 2008

  • For the communication of light is momentaneous, and ceases at once on the removal of the original light.

    The New Organon 2005

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